The Tragic Story of Ridley Trueblood
by 0nceup0nadream
Summary: Ridley was a beautiful girl of many talents and skills, but something was never quite right. As she nears her 18th birthday, she finds out why. Jonathan wasn't the only one with demon blood coursing through his veins. Will love be enough to save her and her future? Will they be able to stop Valentine?
1. Welcome to New York

**_Hello everyone. _**

**_So, I lost my password to the email that royalcaroline was run through and I had to start a new account. No big deal. I went through and reread this story which caused me to take notice to some changes that I want to make to it in order to finish it. I truly love the character of Ridley that I created and I want to see her and this story through._**

**_As always, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. And do please share your feedback in a review or message to me. I love hearing what you guys think! Thank you so much for your support._**

**_[And of course, I do not own any of the characters of the Mortal Instruments, they are the amazing work of Cassandra Clare. I only own Ridley Trueblood and her story.]_**

* * *

_Ridley crumpled to the ground into a pool of her own black blood. Her eyes darted in search for him, the only one who could have done this to her. She locked eyes with him momentarily before her entire world started spinning out of control. With a bloody smile, she whispered sweetly to him. "I love you."_

_As she succumbed to the darkness, she could feel his hot tears on her skin. She wanted to reach for him, but her limbs would not move. Her head was resting in his strong arms, his hands clinging to her. Slowly, he bent down to kiss her softly on the forehead. "And I love you," his voice light and airy. She felt as if she were floating. Everything was deteriorating around her, he was disappearing. And then, almost in an instant, she was gone._

* * *

It was a brisk February day in New York City when Ridley and her sister, Roslyn, arrived. The sun was shining brightly above, giving the illusion of warmth even though small piles of snow still littered the sidewalk. The New York Institute loomed over them as she slid out of the car. To the mundane eye, it was a dilapidated church complete with broken windows and yellow caution tape. But underneath the so-called glamour placed upon it, it was a beautiful gothic cathedral with tall spires reaching up into the New York skyline with a sense of historic grandeur. It was quite lovely if you got the chance to actually see it for what it really was.

"Are you sure this is the place, miss?" The mundie driver had turned to her as he set down a large suitcase. His eyes wandered to the run-down church in question.

Ridley nodded in response, placing a glove clad hand down to pull her suitcase closer to the large wooden doors. She watched as the driver had finished unloading the trunk before turning to him with a fake smile. "That will be all." Her hand reached for his, sliding a roll of bills into it.

He looked down at his hand then back up to her and shrugged his shoulders before returning to the car. The black town car lurched forward then disappeared into the city traffic.

Roslyn had made her way to the massive wooden doors, where they swung open in front of her without a single touch. A tall, thin woman with long black hair and clear blue eyes stood before her. "Welcome to the New York Institute, ladies!" She introduced herself as Maryse. And she was technically their aunt or cousin of some sort, very distantly. So distant in fact that the girls had never met her before.

The elevator bell rang loudly as it reached its destination. Ridley and Roslyn moved into the hallway and listened quite intently on the history of the illustrious building as Maryse led them through the corridor to their respective guest rooms. Ridley's room was simple. Though she had imagined that all of the guest rooms must be just as plain, they weren't meant to be lived in. Just one of the two hundred open rooms that were left to house traveling Shadowhunters that decided to pass through the city. Nothing special.

Maryse lingered at her door as she unzipped her large suitcase, her pointe shoes falling to the wooden floor. "That's right, you are a dancer. Don't you have an audition for a school here?"

"Joffrey," Ridley replied plainly. _The one thing my mother hates the most about me,_ she thought.

"What a wonderful place! Are you excited?" Maryse seemed giddy for her, like a mother would had her child gotten accepted to an Ivy League college or won some type of dismal mundane award. Well, a normal mundane mother, that is. But Maryse wasn't mundane mother. She was a Shadowhunter with two children that were just as strong as her and her husband ever were. A dark past idled behind her. The Circle. Ridley had heard all about them.

Ridley smiled at her from the large closet, but ignored her question. "This closet is huge. Are all the rooms this big?"

"No, the rooms in this hall in particular are much bigger. They are meant for long-term stays. My children live in this hall as well. I assumed with your audition and school, that you would be staying much longer than just a few days." Maryse's eyes watch Ridley closely. "There is also a room connected to the training rooms that I had the boys set up for you as a studio. I made sure everything was Joffrey grade."

Ridley thanked her, then returned to her unpacking. Maryse decided to let the conversation end at that and made her way down the hallway. Her steps echoing off the walls.

Ridley smiled to herself as she closed the door knowing that she was now alone. Abandoning her bags on the floor, she climbed up onto the windowsill and easily shoved the long window upward, swinging one of her legs out into the chilly air. She sat quietly, playing with her fingers. With a flick of her wrist, she snapped them and a spark turned into a small contained flame. A painless line of fire protruding from her fingertips. She stared at it, raking her mind for an explanation. But there wasn't one. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She snapped her wrist back and the flame disappeared. She continued this for almost an hour before someone left a loud rapping on her door. Before she could climb down, it opened slowly revealing a golden haired boy in the doorway.

Ridley eyes were locked on his lips as he spoke. "Maryse wanted me to come get you for dinner," he stated with a sly smile curling at the sides of his mouth. He stared at her as if he were slightly mesmerized. He shook himself out of it and moved closer to her with a hand extended. "I'm Jace."

* * *

With the intent to explore the darker parts of the city, Ridley stepped out into the hallway and looked around. Her sister lay asleep on the bed in her room, book in hand. She didn't hear anyone else. Maryse's children were not in their rooms. _Guess I'm going alone,_ she thought to herself.

Quickly, she returned to her room to exchange her simple blue jeans and white tshirt for tight black skinny jeans and loose low-cut black tank top that just happened to expose her lacey ebony bra underneath. She slid her arms into her favorite leather jacket and laced up her knee-high high heeled boots tight. Her stele was placed neatly into an inside pocket of her jacket and two seraph blades were placed in each boot.

She smirked to herself as she climbed up onto the windowsill again and looked down, now realizing just how high up she was from the courtyard below. After taking a deep breath, she jumped. And landed perfectly. She may not know exactly what was going on with her but the extra bits of power made her feel superior and she certainly didn't mind using them.

The Pandemonium Club was packed, a long line of mundanes wrapped down and around the side of the building. Ridley held herself back while she used her stele to draw an invisibility rune on the inside of her arm. With her stele neatly tucked back into her jacket, she made her way past the bouncer and into the club where she pushed through the crowd toward the bar. She stood there for a moment as her eyes scanned the dance floor.

After moving onto the floor amid the sweaty bodies of Downworlders, she let the music take her over. Her mind wandered away from her as she closed her eyes and swayed to the beat. She was happy there in her own little world as the music blared through her ears. Then she felt it. Someone putting their hand on her shoulder from behind, bringing her back into focus.

Almost instantly, her eyes shot wide open. Slowly, she moved her hand to her belt to grasp the hilt of a dagger. With what seemed like one swift motion, she pulled the blade from her side twirling it through her fingers as she spun herself around to face the body behind her. She looked up, the sharp metal now held against _his_ throat, and locked eyes with the man behind her. "Jace?"

Jace raised his hand slowly to her wrist and stared at her. "You're much quicker than I had expected."

She pulled the dagger back from his soft skin and returned it to her belt. "I will take that as a compliment."

He shrugged his shoulders and took a hold of her hand. "What are you doing here anyways?" He asked as he pulled her off the dance floor to a slightly quieter area of the club. "Where is your sister?"

Ridley pulled her hand away. "She is asleep at the Institute. Why?"

"You came here alone?"

She nodded. "Yeah, so?"

"So, your first night in New York and you decide to wander out into the darkness of the city by yourself..." his voice trailed off for a moment. "Well, that's one hell of a bright idea."

"Don't patronize me. I am certainly capable of protecting myself." She glared at him. _Who does he think is?_

"You made that quite clear. You know, dagger to the throat and all." His fingers rubbed at his neck. "I better not have a bruise. Can't have you marking up the money maker," he said sarcastically as he pointed to his face.

Ridley rolled her eyes. "I didn't even touch your face, pretty boy."

She had pulled away from him and turned to make her way back through the crowd when he grabbed her wrist and spun her back around to him. This time she was right up against him. "Why don't you dance with me?"

Her eyes closed for a moment as she breathed him in. His voice was twisting its way through her ears. She thought about saying yes and letting him pull her back onto the dancefloor, but then she changed her mind. "I don't think so." Then she nodded in the direction of a pretty pink-hair girl in the distance that was staring at them. "I'm sure your fan club would love to oblige you."

He looked over his should to the Downworlder that Ridley had pointed out, slightly releasing his grip on her waist. That was all she needed. Before he could turn back around, she shrugged him off and headed back to the dance floor alone pushing her body through the tightly intertwined crowd. The music thumped loudly as the bodies around her closed in.

Jace watched her contently as her hips twisted to the beat, her long blonde hair flowing down around her to the small of her back. Her hands pushing up into the air above her, her body swiveling back and forth effortlessly. He was lost in her from fifty feet away. He was captivated.

* * *

The walk back to the Institute was a short one, but the cold wrapped around Ridley tightly and slowed her pace. Her stiletto heeled boots clicked repeatedly on the roughly worn sidewalk as Jace kept pace behind her. She turned back to him with a sly smirk before twirling herself around in front of him. Grabbing ahold of her hand quickly, he spun her back to him returning her to the closeness that he had tried earlier in the night. Keeping one hand on her back, he moved the other up to her face and pushed a stringy coil of golden hair back behind her ear. She stared up at him, taking mental notes on all of his movements. Her mind registered his touch faster than she had planned for. Instinctively, she pulled him even closer to her, tangling her fingers up in his hair. His clear golden eyes seemed to pierce through her. A surge of heat rushed through her veins, the closeness seeming to set off tiny fireworks in her brain. Her eyes set on his lips and he leaned his face down closer to hers.

Her eyes closed, and suddenly she was no longer on that New York street. It was as if she fell through a hole - a rabbit hole. There she stood with Jace, but no longer were they standing on the gritty sidewalk. A lush, green grass field encircled them. Clad in a matrimonial gold gown and him in black ceremonial gear with blazing gold runes, they danced as the scene unfolded before her. Beautifully fragrant flowers roping through arches set in a large square and people swirling through the box in celebration. Her eyes darted around, she could see Jace staring at her. Not her face though, her hands.

Flames sprung from her fingertips. Her brown eyes darkened. She tried control the flames, to stop them, but nothing worked. She was losing control. Everyone was fleeing from her. She watched as Jace stood there, mouth gaping open, horrified at the monster he had just married. Her wedded union rune burned through her skin causing her to shriek in terror.

Then, just as quickly as she fell into the vision, she was brought back from it. Jace stood in front of her, shaking her forcefully. She could hear his voice through the blackness. "Ridley, come back." His voice was pleading, sounding worried.

Slowly, her eyes flickered back open. A soft voice rang through her mind, a man's but not Jace's. _Be prepared, my child._

She shook her head, shaking the images from her view and focusing on Jace's worried face. "I'm sorry," she said breathlessly. Her body slumped to the curb where she sat quietly, her head pounding. She stared down at her fingers, examining her hands over and over.

Jace slid down beside her and placed an arm around her waist. "Are you okay?" He searched her face, but it was empty. "Where did you go in that pretty little head of yours?"


	2. The Journal

The hard box of Ridley's pointe shoe slid smoothly underneath her into the middle of the wood floor of the studio. Although she was alone, she looked around behind her before raising up onto her toes. After a few moments of dancing in her solitude, she let herself go. She was no longer just moving through the motions, but truly letting herself feel it. Her heart connecting with her feet and hands, letting her mind run wild.

She had been practicing for hours, her leg muscles aching underneath her. But she wasn't stopping. She pushed herself harder. Replaying her favorite songs over and over. The music blaring through her ears, drowning out the thoughts that had earlier taken her over. Finally, she had found some clarity and time to release some pent up aggression.

Her mind was emptying itself onto the floor. Her pointe shoes trampling over all the thoughts that were weighing her down. She was twirling through her pirouettes effortlessly. Weightlessness enveloped her. She was almost completely gone when she heard the door open. She froze.

"Don't stop on my account."

Ridley turned around to see Jace standing in the doorway. She let out a loud sigh and walked toward the rosin box in the back corner. "I don't like to be watched." Her tone was harsh. "What do you want?" Her eyes locked with his, searching them curiously as she dipped the toe of her left shoe into the yellowish powder.

"I heard the music. I was intrigued."

"Well, by all means, please stay and ruin my concentration. It's not like I have an extremely important audition in less than a week." She glared at him mercilessly, her lips pursed together.

Jace turned to walk out, but then turned back around and stared at her. "You do realize that there will be someone watching you when you go to that audition. That someone every minute of that day will be critiquing your ever move. And you are worried about me? You, my dear, are one confusing creature. But I will leave you to it. Good luck." And with that, he disappeared through the door letting it slam shut behind him.

She blinked her eyes as if snapping herself back to reality._ Jace..._ She attempted to call after him, but the sound wouldn't pass through her lips. With a hand on her forehead, she slid down to the hard wood floor. Why did I just do that? Her temper had elevated so fast and so quick. It was almost as if she left her body and watched herself and Jace converse. She seemed to have no control over her tongue.

The door to Jace's room was locked. Ridley knocked lightly, the door opening before her third knock. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get anything out, he cut her off.

"You know I don't really like these teasing games of yours." He raised an eyebrow down at her and waited for her to respond.

"All I can say is I'm sorry."

His body shifted to the side, leaving her room to enter. With a slight hesitation, she reluctantly accepted his invitation and slid in past him. His room was simple just like hers which surprised her considering the amount of time he had been living there.

Not wanting to rehash the events from the studio that had happened merely an hour before, he turned around to face her, his eyes shimmering in the low light. "Are you hungry?"

* * *

"Well, isn't this just romantic," she joked before stuffing her mouth full of a hot dog from Gray's Papaya. Her legs crossed in front of her, perching herself indian-style on the hard bench somewhere deep in the heart of Central Park. With a hand covering her overly filled mouth, her shoulders vibrated with inaudible laughter.

Jace stared at her in awe. Not only was she actually laughing, somewhat, but he had never seen a girl demolish a hot dog that fast. And she still had a few more to go. His lips curled into a sly smile and he watched her from the corner of his eye. There was a small spot of mustard above her thin lips that was left unnoticed. Slowly, he grazed her cheek softly as he used his thumb to wipe the yellow away.

His hand lingered, fingertips lightly skimming her skin. Their eyes locked as he lowered his face to hers, his lips gently grazing her own. Sparks flew from their lips as they met. Her fingers tangling up in his golden waves, her mind fading into space. His hands tracing the scars on the small of her back.

The world began to spin around her as they kissed. But once again, it took her somewhere else. _It is just a dream,_ she thought carelessly as the other dimension unfolded around her. It wasn't the same as the last time she kissed him though.

This was different. They were in a bedroom. A decadently decorated one, half of the room painted a soft blue while the other was a pale pink. Her eyes wandered around, fingers tracing over a white crib with lilac bedding. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and Jace reached for her as she fell to the floor. Her hands gripped her stomach, which she now noticed to be very round. Her eyes fluttering closed as Jace pulled her to him and held her close. He was shaking her, begging for her to come back and when she did, her breathing became more rapid at the sight of blood. A lot of blood.

Her eyes flashed open and she pulled back from him. Her hands banging down on the bench for stability. She was silently searching the area around her, her heart beating fast. _It was a dream, just a dream._

"Ridley, are you okay?" His hands were now placed on her shoulders, trying to turn her around to him. "You are here. In Central Park. With me." He pulled her head to his shoulder, twirling his fingers in her bright blonde curls, hushing her as if she were a small scared child.

Tears began to fill her dark brown eyes. "What is wrong with me?"

"What are you talking about?" Jace lightly pushed her back so he could examine her face. "Where did you go?"

She shook her head, realizing that she couldn't tell him. He would think I am crazy. Quickly, she wiped her eyes and smiled. "Nothing!"

He stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "You really had me worried."

"Oh, please. I am sure you don't get that invested in the girls that live in the Institute."

He rolled his eyes. "Considering that not many live there. No, I do not. And that has nothing to do with it. I -" He cut himself off and took a bite of his hot dog in hopes of deflecting the conversation.

"You what?" She was oddly curious of what he had started to say, but slightly nervous about hearing the rest.

But Jace didn't respond with words, just a wink as he chewed. Feeling defeated, she continued to finish her hot dog as well.

The walk back to the Institute was not nearly as cold as the night before. Ridley wondered if that was because of the dream. Both times that this had happened so far, her body temperature had rose quite a bit. Underneath the tough girl act, she really wished she could tell Jace what she had seen. But she didn't even know what it meant and she knew he would probably think that she was half nuts... or completely nuts. And she didn't want that either.

He reached down and took ahold of her hand. Together they walked, with fingers intertwined, back to the Institute. Jace made sure to take her the long way, showing off the city lights to her as the sun made its way down switching places with the moon. A group vampires passed them on the sidewalk, staring them down. But Jace and Ridley didn't even pay them any attention, they were lost in their own little world.

* * *

Back at the Institute, Roslyn sat alone in the library. She searched through book after book in the dim light, just trying to find anything that could explain Ridley's behavior. Roslyn knew some of what her sister had been dealing with, mostly just the horrific dreams she had had before they arrived in New York and the undeniable extra strength she had acquired. There had to be viable excuse for the changes.

As she reached on tip-toe for The History of Demonic Curses, a leather journal fell to the ground. It was small with worn brown skin and aged pages. Roslyn opened it carefully, gently scanning the weak parchment not knowing who the writer was. So many Shadowhunters had passed through this Institute since it had been built that this journal could have been left at any point in time.

Her eyes stopped on a familiar date. October 21st, 1991. Ridley's birthday. There was a short entry scrawled across the page.

_October 21, 1991_

_Daphne gave birth to the child this morning. She was unnervingly beautiful with pale skin and hair. And those eyes. Harsh, dark eyes. I do believe that my experiments have worked. She looks to be Jonathan's twin in female form._

Roslyn gasped as the journal fell to the floor. Her eyes wide, she picked it up hastily and ran to her room in search of her phone. She had to find her sister. An array of questions were running through her mind.

_Is this real?_

_Are they really talking about Ridley?_

_What did they do to her?_


	3. What Have I Done?

_Perched up on a large windowsill, Ridley sat watching the light from the setting sun glitter off the Demon Towers in the distance. Alicante was living up to its nickname well as the evening enveloped the party going on around her inside the Accords Hall. People were passing by back and forth, but no one seemed to look twice at her. Her long gold ball gown covered by a dark green cloak, her face turned away from them. She felt as if she were invisible. But this was not the day to feel invisible._

_The witchlights in the Hall sparkled leaving a soft glow lingering through the large room. Light music drifted through air. Women in simple yet beautiful gowns, the men in their plain black ceremonial gear. Everyone waiting around, wine in hand. They were waiting. Waiting for her._

_Isabelle rushed towards her down the corridor. "Have you been here all along?" She took hold of Ridley's hand and led her back through the hallway to a room near the end. "Sit down, let me fix your makeup. It is almost time!" As she touched up Ridley's eye shadow, she noticed that she was abnormally quiet. "Are you nervous?"_

_"Yeah, actually." Ridley stared up at her and smiled as Isabelle touched up her blush. "I don't want to cry, but I am oddly numb. But then again, that is how I act when I am nervous. How do I look?" _

_Isabelle backed up from her, pulling her up from the chair. "You look like an angel." Tears formed in her eyes and she waved her hand lightly in front of them in an attempt to stop her mascara from running. "You are gorgeous!"_

_Ridley smiled at her and wrapped her up in a hug. "I love you, Izzy. I don't know what I would do without you." Almost instinctively, they touched each other's matching rune at the same time._

_Isabelle smiled back at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her out into the hallway. "Come on, let's get you married!"_

_Together, they walked arm in arm down the aisle in the center of the room toward her awaiting future. Amid the guests surrounding them were many familiar smiling faces including her mother whom she did not ask to walk with her. She instead asked her parabatai. Isabelle Lightwood, her best friend, her maid of honor. Jace, dressed in black ceremonial gear with bright gold runes, stood with an oddly happy smile plastered on his face as he watched Ridley teeter down the aisle in her shimmering gold gown. Alec stood beside him, Roslyn stood opposite. _

_You look beautiful, he mouthed to her as she took his hand. His hands were shaking from nerves and his eyes had already started to water. Lightly she brushed her thumb across his check, wiping a runaway tear from his face. A soft smile drawn across her face. Her engagement ring, a mundane tradition they decided to take on, sparkled wildly as she placed her left hand into his vacant one._

_Near the end of the ceremony, their steles were handed to them by the maid of honor and best man. Jace was first, drawing the wedded union rune on her arm then above her heart. Ridley followed after drawing the same rune in the same areas on him. Finally it was time to kiss the bride and just as Jace started to lean in, something caught her eye._

_He was there._

Ridley's eye shot open and she sat up quickly, searching the room around her. Who was that? She racked her brain, trying to put a name to the face of the man in her dream. But she couldn't. She did not know who he was.

As she calmed herself down, she realized that Jace was asleep beside her. Feeling much safer, she laid back down and curled up next to him. Half-asleep he wrapped his arms around her, leaving a sweet kiss on her forehead. She breathed him in, his soft skin peeking through his shirt. Much better.

Her dreams were becoming more and more vivid lately. This one, however, was much milder than the day dreams she had had earlier. This was happy and beautiful, but it ended with something that just _felt_ wrong. Not her and Jace, but that man. His harsh features and dark eyes just standing there, staring at her. And Isabelle, her parabatai? When was that going to happen? So much in that dream confused her. With all these thoughts running through her mind, she was unable to fall back asleep. No matter how comforting Jace's arms were.

There was a soft, nimble rapping on the door. It was Roslyn. Upon opening it, Roslyn urged her to follow her. She slipped on a sweater and padded barefoot down the hall behind her sister to the library. She noticed a small book in her hands, tiny post-its marking multiple pages. She lightly took her arm, pulling her to a stop in the hallway. "What is that?"

Roslyn looked down in her hands. The journal. "It is what I have to show you. Now, come on." She pulled away from her and continued toward the library where she had more books stacked in a hidden corner.

There were many different titles, but most of them were about the same subject. Demons. There were thick volumes surrounding the two chairs. The Demonic Presence in Shadowhunter Lineage. The History of Demonic Curses. The Many Uses of Demon Blood.

Extremely confused, Ridley stared at her sister. "What is all this about?"

"Well, I was doing some research the last few days while we've been here. About all the oddities about you that you can't explain. I think someone ran some type of experiment on you and our mum when she was pregnant with you," Roslyn started. "Look, if you read this journal, I think you will understand. Start at your birthday and continue." She handed Ridley the worn leather book and continued. "Once I read that, I cross examined some of the entries with information from these books. And it is starting to make a lot of sense as to why you can do what you do. I mean, if you –," Roslyn cut off as Ridley raised her hand.

Ridley sighed loudly. "You expect me to believe that I am what? Part demon?" Her voice raising unintentionally. "So because I am a much better Shadowhunter than you, with a set of skills that you don't have, you decide that I am really some filthy Downworlder?" She stood up tossing the heavy books Roslyn had placed in her lap onto the ground with a thump. "That is your explanation?"

The loudness of the conversation had woken Jace and he quickly made his way through the hall to the library. He hoped he had made it before anyone else at the Institute had been woken up as well. His mouth gaped open at the sight in the library. "Ridley!" He shouted from the doorway.

Ridley was still standing in that back corner with her sister. However, now, she was hovering over Roslyn with black eyes and small flames escaping her fingertips. Jace's voice seemed to trail through her mind like a distant memory as she continued to scold and threaten her older sister. "You think that I am some monster because you can't do what I do. Newsflash there Ros, it isn't my fault you are incapable! Mum knew I was the strong child, the one with the potential. You are just her sweet little bookworm that she sends along out of sheer pity. Because that is what you are. Pitiful."

Her words dripped like daggers through Roslyn. They cut her like a million knives, piece by piece. But when Ridley had finished, Roslyn did not cower beneath her. Instead she stood, raising her head and turning away from Ridley, making her way through the library toward the door. Her sister however did not appreciate the gesture and with incredible speed, cut her off just a few feet from Jace.

Her hands were raised, heading for Roslyn's neck. "Maybe you don't realize that I could kill you, just snap your neck, with my bare hands. Roslyn, are you listening to –," her words were cut short as Jace pummeled her to the ground, holding her arms at her side as she writhed underneath him while he placed a silence rune upon her skin.

Jace looked up at Roslyn quickly. "I've got her. Are you alright?" Ridley kicked and tried to scream underneath him. She was a very strong girl. But Jace was stronger at this moment. His golden eyes stared down into her black ones and as they locked, he could feel her body slowing. The color returning just before they closed and her body went limp.

"Is she okay?!" Roslyn dropped down beside her sister, scooping her head into her lap. She sat there, softly running her fingers through the tangled blonde curls.

Jace didn't really know what to do. It was as if Ridley had been possessed. He stood there, looking down at the girls. Then, without much thought, he lifted her flimsy body up from Roslyn and into his arms. "Let's get her to bed."

When Ridley woke it was nearly dinner time at the Institute. The smell wafting through the halls from the kitchen. Her head was pounding, her fingertips burned. Slowly, she raised herself up, but the weight of her head pushed her back down. She groaned in pain as she buried her face in the pillow. Her hand reached over to her nightstand pulling her stele to her. _An iratze should help_, she thought. So she drew one above her heart and almost instantly, her head cleared.

With her legs swung over the bed side, she rested for another moment. She could hear voices outside her door, the sound of dishes clanking in hands. She strained for a minute in an attempt to hear them, then suddenly they were perfectly clear. Her ears taking in every word as if they were standing right next to her. It was something she didn't question. Outside was Jace. And her sister. But what she was hearing was not something she ever thought she would.

"Roslyn, its fine. No one will know about what happened last night." Jace whispered, but to Ridley it was not a whisper.

The words rang through her mind, tears filling her eyes. But then the door opened. Quickly, she rubbed her eyes clean and looked up at him as he set a tray down on the bed. He pulled a chair up to her, sitting across from her, pulling her fragile hands into his lap. She stared at him with a mixture of amazement and disgust. "Roslyn, its fine. No one will know about what happened last night," she repeated.

"You heard me?" His eyes went wide. "Do you remember last night?"

She shifted her weight. "What are you talking about?" Her eyes slanted into a glare. "If you wanted my sister that bad, you should have just told me."

Jace's mouth dropped open. "What!"

"Don't lie to me, Jace. I heard the conversation you two were having in front of my door. I heard every word."

His head shook in disbelief. "I didn't sleep with your sister last night, Ridley." He gripped her hands. "I slept with you. Right here, in a chair. You really don't remember anything, do you?"

The stern glare had disappeared leaving her there in front of him with tear filled eyes. "What happened?" She looked down at her hands. She knew something terrible had happened. "What have I done?"


End file.
